Remember
by Blue Autumn Mist
Summary: She knew he wouldn't be there, but she turned to look anyway. "Shifu?" she whispered the name to thin air. Of course he wasn't there…


**A/N: Cover Art by the amazing FyreDragon5. Thank you SO much my friend!**

**To see the cover art in all its beauty, visit FyreDragon5 on deviantart. **

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><p><strong>Remember<strong>

The night closed in on her as she sat under the tree. She was tired after their long journey back to the Valley. In the moonlit distance she could see Bao Gu Orphanage. The place she'd lived for so long. It was so long ago, yet she could remember it as if it had all just happened. She remembered how lonely and hopeless she felt in that place. It was the same emptiness she now felt. In a few short seconds, everything in her life had fallen apart.

The battle two nights ago had left her feeling cold and shaken. A petal from a peach tree blossom drifted by on the wind and she thought she could hear the sound of his flute being played.

She knew he wouldn't be there, but she turned to look anyway. "Shifu?" she whispered the name to thin air. Of course he wasn't there…

She turned back. What was she to do now? He was gone. Gone forever out of her life; just as quickly as he had entered it.

As she stared silently at the building in the distance she began to think about those days there; those long, painful days. She remembered. No one wanted her. No one loved her. She was locked up like some unwanted object.

_Monster_

That's what they had called her, but why? What had she done to deserve such a harsh title? It was as if she was some horrible, nameless thing.

_Monster_

She wanted to cry, wanted to run away. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. She was alone.

_Monster_

Then _he_ came. She remembered it like it had been yesterday. Curled up in the corner of her so-called room, she heard him come in. She didn't want to turn around. She didn't want him there. He would run, just like everyone else. He would leave, just as everyone had before. She knew he would. She didn't want to turn and look at him…but she did. Why? To this day, she still couldn't answer that.

He spoke to her. He didn't run; didn't turn and leave. Even when she told him that she was a monster, he had stayed. And then he said it; something that no one had ever told her before.

"You are no monster. You're only a little girl."

She remembered that he would come every day. And it was in those days, for the first time, she started to believe that she could be wanted…could be loved.

_Not monster…just Tigress_

She remembered how at first she couldn't pick up a domino without it breaking apart in her hand, and how it frustrated her. Then he taught her how to control her temper, how to be patient. And he showed her how to control her strength.

After months of trying and failing and trying again, she was finally able to place the dominos quickly and gracefully. She remembered that day vividly; the day she showed everyone the pattern she had made, how amazed they had been. It was as if they had all seen her for the first time.

_Acceptance…friends…at last_

_She was Monster no more_

But then that day came. It was the day she watched as everyone went home. Home. Everyone had left her, just as before. No one really wanted her. No one really loved her.

_Alone_

She sat in silence. Only the dominos and her sadness were her companions. Suddenly another domino appeared beside hers. She looked up and saw him. He came back for her! Shifu had really come back for her! It was the happiest day of her life. She was going home.

She remembered how hard she worked to please him, to earn his approval…his love. But there was nothing. He was never cruel to her. But there was no pride in his eyes, no warmth in his words: Nothing. Never 'dad' or 'father', always 'Master.' It was always that one, cold word, no matter what.

_Master_

She remembered the night when Oogway found her punching the iron-wood trees by the palace. She felt frustrated, angry, but most of all, she felt sad. Why had Shifu brought her here if he didn't want her?

The old Master comforted her; reassured her that Shifu _did _want her, was proud of her…loved her.

"Then why won't he ever tell me so?" she had asked, on the brink of tears.

With a sad look in his eyes he began to tell her about Tai Lung and all the pain he had brought. She learned of the fear in Shifu. The fear that if he showed her the love and pride he felt, it might bring her to ruin and leave him with another broken heart.

"So you see, little one," he had said, softly, "he does love you. And one day he will find a way to tell you"

He had left her with those words. Now she knew, but she still didn't understand. How could she? She was only a child; a child that wanted nothing else out of life than to have the love of her father, and to know the look of pride in his eyes, and to just once hear him say, "This is my daughter." But she was never 'daughter', always 'student.' And he was never 'father', always 'Master.'

She didn't understand. She wasn't Tai Lung. She would never be Tai Lung. She was no…

_Monster_

Her heart sank. A tear dropped. Did Shifu think of her as a monster waiting to appear, even though he had told her she was not?

Hot tears now poured down her face. No! She was not a monster! She was not Tai-Lung! She was Tigress. And no matter what she had to do she would prove it to him. She would work day and night if she had to. She would earn his love, whatever she had to do. She didn't care how much it might hurt or how long it took…

She remembered it all. It was so long ago, and yet it was all so close to her heart.

But now she remembered. The love she longed for, the approval she strove so hard to earn. Now it all ended in regret; the regret of silence unending. Words never spoken would now never be said, heard, felt…

The knowledge that the emptiness of her heart could not ever be filled was almost too much to endure. That void which can only be filled with the affirmation of love would stay hollow. There would be no hearing of the words: "I'm proud of you," or "I love you." To see a smile on a parent's face, to know, to _really _know, is the most important thing for any child. And now it could never be.

All she ever wanted, then and now, was to hear those words from him. But now it was too late. He was gone. Now she would have to lament the things she never heard, and regret the things she herself never said. Two hearts were broken. Neither healed…

Why did he let go? She could've held on long enough for him to climb up to safety, and then she would've followed. If he would have held on a few seconds longer she could have saved him. Or at least one of the others could've gotten away from the battle long enough to pull them both up…if only he would've held on…

That thought was foolish, and she knew it. Try as she did, she couldn't reach him; she couldn't help him up from the edge. And even if he'd had the strength to jump straight up from the small rim which he clung to, he still wouldn't have been able to reach her outstretched hand. She herself almost fell in her effort to reach him.

But why did he let go? She recalled the horrible sight of him falling, farther and farther from her reach until she could no longer see him. The haunting image played through her mind over and over.

She tried one last time to blink away the tears that threatened to overcome her.

Suddenly everything from her life flashed through her mind in an instant. "_He does love you," _Oogway's words echoed in her mind. "_One day he will find a way to tell you._"

Realization came into her eyes. She remembered now… the last seconds just before he let go. He looked at her…in a way he never had before.

With that look, that one last look, he had said everything she had ever longed to hear.

_I _am_ proud of you; I always have been. And I'm sorry I never told you that before. You always have been and always will be my daughter…I love you._

As the sun began to rise, she finally let the tears escape from her eyes. She looked up and watched the last star fade from the sky. Curled up just as she had been when he first saw her, she hugged her knees tight and buried her face. And faintly, she whispered what she hoped he would somehow hear:

"I love you too…Dad."

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><p><strong>AN: This story was inspired by the thought of what Tigress might feel/think if Shifu died. This story takes place sometime after the events of KFP 2.**


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